


Of Monsters and Men

by ellewrites



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Canon Timeline, Fluff, Frottage, M/M, a wee little bit of canon-compliant bruce-related angst but mostly, and tony loves his big green boyfriend, fight me, hulk is soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 15:09:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20530058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellewrites/pseuds/ellewrites
Summary: It occurred to Tony then that no one had ever told Hulk that they loved him. It was one thing for Tony to say he loved Bruce – Hulk knew people loved Bruce. Whether Bruce knew people loved him or not – Hulk, in the animalistic back of his mind, could see plain as day that that was the case. But Hulk? At best, Hulk was only treated as a weapon, as something that could be used. At worst? God, Bruce – the superego to his id, his very own self – had tried to kill him.





	Of Monsters and Men

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dr_zofia_bites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_zofia_bites/gifts).

> Sometimes you meet someone and they put a thing in your head and then you end up writing something you never thought you’d ever write. Thanks for that Misty.

Tony darted through the treeline and blasted the thrusters to close the distance between him and Hulk as he ran across the clearing. Hulk had gotten a dramatic head start through the forest. It was easier for him through the trees than it was for Tony – he had to slow down dramatically not to hit anything and it wasn't intuitive. But here, in the clearing, he had a chance to catch up. 

The grin on Tony's face was unstoppable as he watched Hulk grin back at him over his shoulder and he pushed the thrusters a little harder, rounding up over Hulk's left side, reaching down with metal clad fingers to tousle his hair. But the instant Hulk felt his fingers there he jumped, catching him effortlessly around the waist before flinging him up into the air like he weighed nothing and not the two-hundred and fifty odd pounds he weighed in the suit.

He had to reverse thrust quickly to stop himself from being thrown too far and it jarred a little but his adrenaline was up and he was laughing

Tony had been ridiculously pleased when Bruce finally, finally let him have a little playtime with Hulk. It took him about a million years to even let Hulk out for playtime at all and when Bruce eventually agreed, the sense of betrayal Tony felt when he went to Steve to ask if he’d join him was deep. Tony knew Bruce worried – and not for no reason. Steve at least was superhuman, like him. But Tony had the suit. And it wasn’t like Hulk was going to  _ hurt _ him. Hulk would never hurt him. If there was one thing Tony knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was that. 

Bruce, however, was not so sure. So Tony put up with Steve getting playtime with his boyfriend’s alter ego until Bruce felt better about it. But when he invited Thor out for a romp while he was stateside and staying with them, well – that just hurt. Tony was the one that couldn’t hope to keep his temper in check then. 

They fought but it didn’t last long because neither of them ever wanted to fight with the other. And what it came down to was Bruce in a soft voice begging him to understand – “he can crush the suit, Tony, he can hurt you” – and Tony begging him back – “but he  _ won’t _ .”

And he hadn’t. This was only their third time out together, intermeshed between adventures with Steve and Thor, but every time had been perfect. They smashed stuff, blew stuff up together, laughed and played chase, and Tony felt like a kid again. A kid with a normal life who got to run around the neighborhood and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting neighborhood cats and paint penis-shaped chalk lines on driveways and get yelled at by crotchety old people for getting too close to their lawns. 

Tony loved it. And he loved that Hulk loved it. And he loved the look Hulk gave him like he was just so damn pleased to be playing with Tony. He wondered if Hulk gave Steve and Thor that look too – but he didn’t really want to know. 

Hulk’s giant feet skidded in the dirt as he turned quick on his heel, walking backwards slowly, pounding his chest a few times and then throwing his hands wide and beckoning Tony towards him where he hovered in the air, taking a second to catch his breath.

“That’s what you want, Big Guy?” Tony smirked as he stared down at the big, green version of Bruce he loved just as much. 

This was Bruce with all his confidence. This was Bruce with all his strut. This was Bruce eight feet tall with rippling muscle and an overprotective quality that could tear apart the whole entire world but who only ever touched him gently and damn if Tony wasn’t smitten with every fucking solid inch of Bruce fucking Banner – Hulk no exception.

“Tony!” he roared with a big grin on his face and Tony’s fragile, idiotic, arc-reactor powered heart definitely skipped a beat or two. 

That he  _ knew _ was his and his alone – that Hulk used  _ his _ name. Steve and Thor would never know the power of  _ that _ .

He tipped forward and blasted at him full speed, reversing thrust at the last possible second to minimize the force of the impact as he barreled into Hulk's waist, wrapping his arms around it as far as they would go, pushing him down so that his back hit the grass, sliding against it as Tony’s speed slowed until they came to a stop. They were both laughing and Hulk took one big hand and put it on his shoulder, pushing him off of him roughly but not rough enough to hurt. 

Tony stood then and did something he knew Bruce would fucking piss his pants over but he didn’t care. It sucked to be encased in metal when Hulk was laying there, laughing and grinning, looking up at him from the soft grass. So he just said fuck it and stepped out of the suit.

Hulk’s eyes absolutely lit up to see him come out of the suit like that and Tony was already breathless from the exertion of keeping up with Hulk and he just let himself fall onto his stomach and wrap his arms around his big wide frame and hug him tight. 

He had never, ever touched Hulk like that – he wasn’t sure anyone ever had – but it felt real natural, more so than even he expected. And Hulk just reached up a hand and put it on Tony’s head, so gently, far more gently than Tony would have believed possible even with the deep seated belief that Hulk wouldn’t hurt him. Hulk was so warm under his body, supernaturally warm, and he could feel a satisfied rumble in Hulk’s chest and it was just so nice with the sun beating down on them that Tony couldn’t help but grin and do the only thing anyone really could do in that situation – 

Tony tickled him. 

It was ridiculous to even think that it might work but Tony was Tony and he didn’t question things like impulse or logistics or reason. He just dug his right hand as hard as he could into Hulk’s side and Hulk absolutely  _ squirmed _ with delight, a big full laugh reverberating through the clearing and Tony couldn’t help but laugh back, really enjoying it. 

Bruce might have had his reservations about Tony interacting with Hulk but... Hulk needed this, to be touched. To be played with. He wasn’t just anger, the way Bruce thought. He was just –  _ triggered _ by that. It was all he’d been allowed to express, all Bruce had ever allowed himself to express. Anger and fear and repression. But little by little, as Tony helped Bruce grow more comfortable and confident, Hulk was growing more comfortable and confident too. And it was fucking beautiful. Amazing. Simply  _ awesome _ .

“Banner love Tony,” Hulk said after Tony let up, after a moment of them laying together, panting and catching their breath, Tony comfortably splayed across the larger man, his legs straddling one of Hulk’s big thighs, trying not to think about the fact that he was half hard and definitely feeling good right then as Hulk was making declarations of love. 

“Tony loves Bruce, too,” Tony answered honestly, smiling as he said it, feeling Hulk sigh beneath him in a contented way that reminded him of a dog sighing in it’s sleep. 

It wasn’t often he admitted to things like love – the things he loved were generally taken from him in one way or another – but somehow, to Hulk, it was so easy to say. It was even easier than it was to admit it to Bruce.

“Hulk love Tony,” Hulk said after a minute and that gave Tony pause and he lifted himself up on his elbows, staring as best he could at Hulk’s face. 

“Tony loves Hulk, too,” Tony told him honestly, smiling down at him and watching Hulk’s face flutter with some kind of emotion, like he was trying to smile but he wasn’t sure how he really felt about that. 

It occurred to Tony then that no one had ever told Hulk that they loved him. It was one thing for Tony to say he loved Bruce – Hulk knew people loved Bruce. Whether Bruce knew people loved him or not – Hulk, in the animalistic back of his mind, could see plain as day that that was the case. But Hulk? At best, Hulk was only treated as a weapon, as something that could be used. At worst? God, Bruce – the superego to his id, his very own self – had tried to kill him. And Tony tried to understand, he really did, wasn't like he'd never been low before – but that hurt to think too hard about. And if it hurt him, it sure as hell had to hurt Hulk. He was pretty damn sure that Bruce had never said he loved himself, let alone Hulk. And frankly – that was pretty fucked.

Not that Tony was really one to be giving any grandiose lectures about self-love or any other kind of hippie-dippy bullshit but still. 

“Hey – you gotta know I love you, okay?” Tony said, sliding forward to look him in the eyes a little bit better, so big and green but so like Bruce’s that honestly it was like he had been staring into  _ those _ eyes for the past ten months – but then really, he had been. “You’re the best. The best thing that’s ever happened to me, okay?” 

And then Tony could straight up fucking swear Hulk blushed. He knew Bruce would never believe him – hell. He might not even have believed himself. But Hulk made the shyest, softest face – just the kind of face Bruce would make – and turned his eyes away a moment and Tony just smiled down at him, grasping his big jaw in both his hands and leaning just the little bit more forward it took to kiss his chin. 

Hulk huffed out a big, pleased breath and he put one big hand on Tony’s back, his fingers cradling around his ribs so gently, and damn – when he was going through his schedule this morning ‘impromptu love confessions and sporting a full-fledged erection against Hulk’s hip’ was not penciled in for three p.m. and yet that’s exactly what was happening. The question now was if he should he fire his assistant or become a little more clairvoyant to avoid such awkward and unexpected events in the future. 

“Hulk happy,” he said at last and Tony could tell as, quite selfishly, he slid back into a more comfortable position which let his dick rub down Hulk’s thigh a little as he pillowed his chin in his hands on Hulk’s chest, staring across at him. 

“I’m glad, buddy. Want you to be happy,” he replied earnestly before laying his head down on his chest, listening to his heart beat. 

Fuck – it was like a damn engine thumping slowly in there with that accesorized purr and Tony really,  _ really _ absolutely under no circumstances did  _ not _ need to be thinking about how much that turned him on but oh – there it was. He  _ was _ thinking about it and it was... well it sure was  _ something _ , wasn’t it?

But really – no,  _ really _ – it was bound to happen, right? He smelled _ just like  _ the way Bruce smelled on his sheets the morning after they’d fucked and Bruce was already in the shower and Tony was rolled over into his side of the bed with his nose buried in it. And he felt  _ just like _ the way Bruce felt when he lay his head on Bruce’s chest and listened to his heart beating, reassuring himself that some part of it had to beat only for him. And he looked  _ just like  _ the way Bruce looked when he was lying in his bed, soft and open with all his defenses finally, finally down and how – good fucking God  _ how _ was Tony supposed to not be attracted to all of  _ that _ ?

“Tony happy,” Hulk rumbled and Tony paused a minute, his mind not computing too much of anything at that moment besides just how attracted he really was not only to Bruce but also to Hulk and so yeah, it took him a minute to realize it wasn’t actually a statement but a question.

“I’m so happy,” Tony assured him, pressing a kiss to his chest, completely unselfconscious about it. “I’ve got the best boys.”

At that Hulk straight up preened. Tony knew he was a bit of a showboat – well, 'a bit' might have been downplaying it some. Hulk was definitely a showboat, especially in comparison to Bruce. But it hadn’t occurred to Tony until that moment that unguarded affectionate attention would elicit the same response as an indulgent pat on the back for smashing up a whole bunch of baddies. 

Tony kissed his chest again and he felt Hulk’s fingers stroke down his back in response, causing Tony to shiver – hard – and the jerk of his hips against Hulk’s thigh was a little more than he was ready for and he bit his own lip trying not to moan. He really didn’t want it to go down like this – he didn’t even know if that was something Hulk wanted or could even understand. And as a sexually promiscuous child with some harrowing stories tucked into his sleeve, if there was one thing he was damn sure he was never going to force anyone into it was sex.

“Tony hurt?” 

That time he could tell it was a question and he huffed out an embarrassed laugh as he buried his face in Hulk’s chest. 

“No, no,” he assured him. “It felt good. You are being so good and so gentle.”

Hulk took one of his fingers and pressed it against Tony’s forehead, forcing his face from its hiding place. 

“Hulk always gentle,” he said, very self-assured, almost like an admonishment. “Banner scared. But Hulk gentle. Hulk love Tony.”

Tony smiled at him and took his hand in his own, pressing it to the side of his face so he could nuzzle up against his palm. 

“I’m so glad to hear you say that. Really. It means so much to me.” 

And it did. He hoped Hulk really understood that. 

But Hulk seemed to be more fascinated with Tony’s reaction to his touch than anything else and he slipped his hand from his face back to his body where he stroked his fingers back down along his spine, making him squirm more than shiver this time – but still. It got the desired effect Hulk was looking for and he laughed. 

“Tony like touch.”

“Oh yeah, Tony like touch,” he muttered at Hulk’s observation, so unintentionally scientific in his approach that even  _ that _ kinda turned him on. 

“Hulk knows,” he said, self-satisfied, like he was a kid in a candy store picking up bar after bar while the clerk protested that he didn’t have the money but he knew he had a crisp, clean twenty in his pocket. “Hulk watch.”

_ Aw, shit _ , Tony thought.  _ That _ was fucking  _ weird _ . But sure did make sense as to why all Bruce’s fears about ‘hulking out’ during sex seemed to disappear after awhile. Which, really, was a fascinating train of thought about trust that he was going to have to bring up with Bruce later but which he sure didn’t have the mental capacity to follow to its natural conclusion right then.

Hulk brought both hands up to Tony's body now, hugging him roughly, pressing him down into his body, but it just felt good and warm and Tony sighed and tried to keep his hips still, tried to maintain control of himself. This was going to go nowhere good real fast if Hulk kept unintentionally teasing him. 

“Hey, buddy, you know, you don’t –” 

“Mate,” Hulk interrupted, jarring Tony as he looked up at his cuddly ‘green rage monster,’ noting the sincerity with which he said it.

But the thing was – was that meant to be a noun? Or a verb...? Tony wasn’t quite sure which he was hoping for.

“Banner’s mate,” Hulk clarified and Tony wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Hulk use a possessive before. “Hulk’s mate.”

The second part came out kind of like a question and Tony started laughing, pressing warm kisses to his chest again. It wasn’t hard to put those pieces together. After the incident, Bruce had never been with anyone, had never chosen a ‘mate’ for himself – not until Tony. So by consequence Hulk had never had a mate either. But now Bruce did and they were one in the same but still Hulk was unsure even though he clearly wanted to claim that relationship, too. It was actually – it was kind of sweet, really. Hulk was way more thoughtful than Bruce ever gave him credit for. Of course, Bruce was far more thoughtful than Bruce ever gave himself credit for, too. 

“Yeah,” Tony said, feeling breathless and weirdly exposed as he looked up from Hulk’s wide chest, sure that Bruce was going to lecture him for the next three months about what he was about to say but really – he only had the best of intentions. “Tony is Hulk’s mate.”

Hulk grinned a wide, carnal grin and in a swift movement he had a hand up under himself, propping himself up in a sitting position as he cradled Tony’s hips with his other hand and brought them down so that Tony was pinned down in his lap, feeling every inch of that very, very large and very, very hard erection pitched in those stretchy pants he’d designed up against his own. 

“I – well. Wow, that’s really – I. Okay,” Tony babbled, the size queen in him absolutely giddy with the prospect of  _ that _ even though really he was in no way prepared for it right then. “Let’s go slow, okay? Tony’s squishy, remember?” 

Hulk huffed a laugh, sliding his big hand directly over Tony’s ass and pressing him down hard into his hips and Tony was barely able to bite off a moan. Being so completely surrounded by him like that, buried up against Hulk’s chest, pressed firmly into his hips, enveloped in his arms, his heat, his scent – well fuck. Tony was pretty far gone at that point. 

And then he felt Hulk roll his hips against his. 

“Oh shit!” Tony gasped, putting a hand on his chest, not wanting to tell him to stop but needing a moment to process  _ that _ . “You gotta – you can’t – I said – shit. Slow, okay? Slow?” 

Hulk grunted and gave him a frustrated look that was piercing and terrifying and really fucking hot. He’d seen that look in Bruce’s eyes before and it didn’t usually fail to disappoint. 

“Slow,” he rebuked, rolling his eyes. “Tony scared. Scared like puny Banner.”

“Hey!” Tony actually felt pretty offended by that – he sure as hell was  _ not _ afraid of Hulk. Not like Bruce was. “I’m not  _ scared _ . I just – it’s the first time. You know about first times?” 

Hulk’s eyes narrowed. If he had any thoughts on that he didn’t say it. He was pretty sure Bruce only had one first time since the incident and that was Tony so maybe Hulk didn’t really understand because they’d been together many, many times now. Sometimes it seemed like Hulk understood the difference between him and Bruce like an unbreachable wall and sometimes it seemed more like there wasn’t any difference at all. 

“Look,” Tony said but then stopped himself, bracing his hands on Hulk’s large chest and leaning up to press a kiss against his chin again. 

And when he looked up into Hulk’s eyes, he hoped if Bruce was watching that he’d eventually find it in his heart to forgive him as he rolled his hips back down into Hulk’s. 

And yeah, that felt pretty damn amazing. It was far from the first time he’d ever fucked himself against another guy fully clothed – but it had been an awfully long time. Threw him right back to his all boy’s boarding school and how eager he was and how new everything was and how easy it was to convince the other lonely, horny boys it wasn’t gay if they didn’t actually touch anything. 

But even then, Hulk was really different. He was goddamn huge, first of all. The way Tony’s knees were bent and pinned into Hulk’s hips, his feet not even touching the ground – not straddling him like he’d straddle a regular guy – gave him a certain amount of leverage and had him spread wide against Hulk’s body. He could use his thighs and knees a lot more, relying less on his upper body to force his hips down and more on his lower body to press up into Hulk.

And second of all – well fuck. What about it  _ wasn’t _ different? He was huge and warm and wild. Hulk smelled like raw masculinity and felt like hard rippling muscle under wonderful fleshy rolls and Bruce would never understand it but being in his lap like that, one large arm wrapped around him, holding him down with a big hand on his hips – it felt... safe. Really fucking safe. Safe in some kind of weird, primal way that he wasn’t anticipating at all. But he was Hulk’s mate and in that moment he knew, he just  _ knew _ that there was nothing Hulk wouldn’t do to protect him.

Hulk leaned in, coveting Tony’s shoulder, sniffing along his neck and blowing out hot breaths along his neck and ear and shoulder and Tony gave up. He moaned. It just felt really damn good, rubbing himself off against Hulk and having all that concentrated savageness focused solely on him. 

“Oh – fuck,” Tony breathed against Hulk’s chest, his thighs burning with exertion as he grew close, burying his sweaty face in the divot between his oversized pecs and yeah – this was good. This was really goddamn  _ good _ . 

Tony could feel a rumble in Hulk’s chest, almost like laughter, as he sat up further, bending Tony back a little as he picked his other hand up off the grass and brought it to his back, cradling him firmly against his body. Tony felt completely enclosed there in his arms with Hulk’s chin curled over the back of his shoulder – hidden from the world, precious and protected. And he pressed his lips into Hulk’s thick neck, sighing into it, feeling the way Hulk took over, rutting up into him, rocking his hips up into Tony’s and grunting as he did so. 

All Tony could do was hold on. His hands curled into fists where they were pressed between their chests. He rolled his hips to get a little better friction but each powerful thrust of Hulk against him drug him quickly closer to the edge and he realized belatedly that he was moaning nonsense into Hulk’s neck but unlike with other partners, he wasn’t embarrassed at all. This was Bruce and even more than that it was Bruce it was Hulk. And Hulk didn’t care. Hulk was huffing his own passion across Tony’s back, growling from deep in his throat. 

“Hey, big guy, fuck but I’m – I’m –” 

He started and then stopped, licked his lips and let his mouth hang open against Hulk’s neck instead as he was overwrought with the sensation of being right there on the edge. As he was saying it, he didn’t think it mattered much to Hulk if he was going to come or not. Hulk was so primitive and carnal and he didn’t think those strong hips were going to stop grinding into him until he was done. 

Tony shuddered in Hulk’s arms when he came, his orgasm rolling through him with the roll of Hulk’s hips, leaving him gasping and feeling wrecked, disoriented, like he wasn't sure what had just happened but he wanted to crawl down into the full-bodied buzz of it forever. And then, for a moment, there was a keen sense of panic as he came up out of it, struggling to take a full breath as he was crushed against Hulk’s chest. 

But after a beat Tony realized Hulk was growling and trembling and coming himself, arms constricting in the headiness of that triumphant moment of exquisite pleasure. And any fears he might have had while lost in irrational panic were unfounded because as soon as Hulk came back to himself he loosened his arms, giving Tony the blessed ability to take a deep breath again, and Hulk pet him softly all over with wonder and elation. 

“Hey,” Tony said shakily, reaching out for one of Hulk’s hands and pressing it against his face again, loving the feeling of being treated so gently by hands that could so easily snap his neck. “That was good, right? First time?” 

Hulk laughed and shook his head. 

“First time,” he repeated, like that was a dumb assessment on Tony’s part, and it left him looking curiously up at Hulk, wondering just who – or, more realistically,  _ what _ – he’d fucked before. “Tony first time.”

Tony laughed as Hulk fell back into the grass with a hard thud and Tony climbed up his chest until he was able to look down into his eyes. 

“It wasn’t my first time!” he argued, feeling extremely juvenile and loving every second of it. 

“First time Hulk’s mate. Puny humans –” he made a disgruntled sound and a hand gesture, clearly dismissing all of Tony’s voluminous sexual history as irrelevant because it wasn’t  _ him _ , and Tony was stunned. 

Fucking showboat.

“Hey!” Tony laughed again, punching Hulk in the chest playfully, but then his expression turned very serious though he was biting down a smirk. “Next time I’ll let you do it better.” 

That got a generous grin out of Hulk and Tony flopped down on his chest, snuggling his head up under his chin and stroking slowly across his collarbone with firm fingers. He wondered if that was the kind of confidence Bruce would have had if he’d not had it beaten out of him. He wondered if Bruce would ever leave him alone with Hulk again. If Bruce would ever speak to him again. 

“You gotta hang out here with me a little while, okay buddy?” Tony said, trying not to let his genuine fear bleed through. “I think Bruce is gonna be pissed at me and I’m not ready to face him yet.”

Hulk chuckled and pressed one thick finger into his side teasingly. 

“Tony scared.”

“Hell yeah, Tony’s scared,” he said, pausing his hand on it’s idle trajectory of Hulk’s chest. “Tony loves Bruce, remember. And Tony loves Hulk. And if Bruce decides he doesn’t love Tony any more, then Tony doesn’t have Bruce  _ or _ Hulk.”

Hulk huffed and cradled his head comfortingly, like you might a child. 

“Banner love Tony. Big, big love,” Hulk said, gesturing wide with his hands before bringing one back to his head and Tony couldn’t help how truly comforted that made him feel. 

Bad as Tony was at being candid, Bruce wasn’t particularly forthright with his emotions either. Hell, usually he wasn’t even sure Bruce would call him his boyfriend. They still had separate rooms and spent the night alone most nights. But Hulk knew Bruce in a way no one else ever would. And if Hulk said Bruce loved him then, well – Bruce must really have fucking loved him. Hopefully enough to forgive him for frotting off his id.

“Banner puny, always scared. Not Hulk. Hulk brave.”

Scared as he was, Tony couldn’t help but smile at that. And he found himself yawning sleepily, sated and warm and being cradled so carefully. God, this was so fucking weird. Weird and wonderful and this was one of many, many times he wished time travel were possible if only so that he could go back in time and let his ignored and neglected childhood self know just how strange and lovely life was going to be one day.

“You gotta tell Bruce to be brave, too – okay, big guy?” 

Hulk hummed and it reverberated all through Tony’s chest and made him smile even wider – wide enough his cheeks hurt. 

“Hulk tell. Hulk make Banner listen.”

“Hope so buddy,” Tony breathed out as he closed his eyes, letting the warmth of Hulk under his cheek and the warmth of the sun over his cheek and the warmth between his hips sooth him into a blissful state of rest. “Cause I love you.”

“Love Tony,” Hulk agreed, patting him gently, and that was all Tony wanted to hear.


End file.
